So Happy Together
by Pen Name FTW
Summary: "Hearing that melody... and again I feel the overwhelming sensation of being smothered even as my heart beats to it's rhythm..." The line between love and obsession is sometimes difficult to perceive. Can real, pure love prevail over a heart still enchanted by darkness? Rated M for language and maybe themes, story a bit AU and set before the events of Twilight.


**Disclaimer: **I don't own Twilight. Also plan to submit this to "The If You Dare Challenge" over on HPFC.

**A/n: **Story will be AU and take place before the events of Twilight. In this "universe" vampires don't sparkle, Esme doesn't exist, and I might make other changes, though I still haven't plotted them out fully.

As this is my first Twilight fic, please review. And for any of you who are cannon police, I suggest you just don't read this if you are going to be upset by the changes I've made for plot. You've been warned this story is AU. Although, I hope you will give it a chance.

Whether or not I continue this story is going to be based on reviews. I want to hear your thoughts you know, love it, hate it, whatever. So I suggest if you like it, then you review because for now, this is just a plot bunny that wouldn't let go of my brain.

**Prompt:** Lonesome (#95)

**~X~x~X~**

**So Happy Together**

**~X~x~X~**

_**I**_

_**Prologue: Our Love's Requiem**_

_Imagine me and you, I do. _

Though most days, I try not to. Sometimes I think I would like nothing more than to forget, but that's difficult. How do you forget a period of your life where you felt such love... reached such heights... just before everything went it's darkest...?

_I think about you day and night, it's only right. _

Yes... that was the sentiment exactly. Where every second of every day was consumed by thoughts of him... with longing for his charismatic yet dark presence. Where every second apart from him was counted almost as a waste of time, and the moment we were back together was like a bird taking flight.

Was that how love was truly supposed to be? So all encompassing, that the rest of the world simply doesn't matter?

_To think about the girl you love, and hold her tight, so happy together..._

But that was our problem. There is such a thing as holding to tight, to the point where it seems suffocating and unfortunately, that is how I grew to feel. Sometimes, I felt as though I was suffocating. I couldn't breathe...

_If I should call you up, invest a dime..._

Only now, I wouldn't dream of answering a call from him, much less try to reach out to him. Not after everything that happened. In fact... even hearing our song causes me to go into a bit of a panic attack.

Because this song... is him... is our love... if it can really be called that.

Sometimes I'm not so certain I can. Sometimes I think that what we have must amount to nothing more than an obsession, because surely love must be something wholesome. Something pure.

Surely love is light... and what we had was darkness.

_And you say you belong to me, and ease my mind..._

We used to talk about our love in terms of eternity. Forever. And always in terms of possession. I belonged to him and he belonged to me and we promised that it would always be so; that nothing could change that.

Even after all these years, I'm not sure I can disavow that. Shameful as it may be, I'm not sure I'll ever fall in love or love anyone with the intensity that I loved him.

_Imagine how the world could be, so very fine, so happy together..._

Hearing that melody... and again I feel the overwhelming sensation of being smothered even as my heart beats to it's rhythm...

**II**

_**2002**_

"Oh good, you're here. I was afraid you weren't going to make it."

The voice wasn't what made her look up from her sketchbook in which she was presently drawing. After all, after being roommates for the last two years, not to mention having known each other for about eight years... it wasn't exactly a voice she would not recognize.

It was the loud thump on the hardwood floor, instead, that caused Sofia to look up slowly.

"What the hell is that?" the tone was sharp, like the narrowed dark eyes now locked on a guitar case, where it rested on the floor as hands clasped together at the top.

"A guitar case. Really Soph, you should know one when you see one," the red-headed girl replied with a mischievous smile, before draping her long, very lean figure in the seat opposite of the dark-haired girl before casting her pretty blue eyes around the cafe-bar.

It was quickly becoming quite filled with your modern poetry beatniks, your odd goth, and more than a few emo-kids; the latter of which caused Piper "Red Pepper" Gardner to scrunch up her nose in distaste. For the once prima-ballerina with a high-school obsession with the Goth scene, which she'd never would quite grow out of, the emo-kids offended her sensibilities.

"I know what the fuck it is, Red. Care to explain why you have a guitar with you when you can't play one?" Sofia "Sirena" Rossi nearly growled, finally setting down her pencil. She eyed suspiciously Piper's overly nonchalant inspection of her nails.

"Well in case you've forgotten, my boyfriend can play bass and guitar. Honestly hon, one would think you hadn't been in a band with us _ever_..." Piper replied as she started to drum her fingers on the table.

Sofia merely continued to glare at her friend across the table before scoffing. "The band", there was something that she tried hard not to think of. While music in general, specifically the performing of it in anyway, had become a touchy subject she was still trying to work through, "The band" was still a bit of a hot-button issue. Though perhaps that was to be expected. After all, it had only been about a year since the band had dissolved... rather disastrously and explosively so after playing together for four years.

"So what's the reason that you wanted me to come so much for?" Sofia asked, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning back against her seat after closing her sketchbook.

"Other than the fact that it's open-mic night at our favorite hang, which we haven't been able to actually to attend as a full group, you mean?"

"You mean David's actually dragging his ass out of his beloved tattoo parlor and coming?" Sofia asked, pretending to be surprised, while ignoring the fact that the three of them did not constitute the "full group". However, her tone was too flat. But it still earned her a slap on the arm from the tall, slender, red-head girl opposite of her. "Long-armed bitch," Sofia grumped, rubbing her arm before shooting Piper a grin at the scowl she got.

Sometimes, it amazed Sofia how far they had come in the last eight years. When she'd first met Piper in their freshmen year of High School, she'd been inclined to hate the girl on sights alone. Piper was simply far too pretty, friendly and over-all perfect to bear. To top it off, she was overly chatty for Sofia's taste, and a Ballerina princess to boot.

Unfortunately, no matter how large their alma mater was, as is invariably the case in life, Sofia couldn't hope to get away from the girl. Freshmen year, she had no less than four classes with the red-head, including lunch, which was statistically improbable.

And yet somehow... in spite of her strong dislike of the girl, Piper had wormed her way into a solid friendship from the usually quiet and unsociable Sofia.

"Be nice, or I won't tell you what fun I've planned for you."

"What are you up to?" Sofia asked, her hackles rising once more.

"You'll see," Piper sing-songed as she turned her attention to her black leather jacket which she slowly removed, revealing a black tank-top beneath. Sofia would have been surprised her friend had found the time to change out of her nurse scrubs before coming to the cafe and surmised that was the reason she'd arrived late.

"Piper what did-"

"Dude! Nice sleeve," a random metal-head interrupted, addressing Piper as he stopped to admired the work on her right arm. Sofia sighed in annoyance as Piper fully turned her attention to the guy with mousy brown hair that fell past his shoulders.

"Thanks. My boyfriend did most of the work," Piper said, flashing a smile and as usual, working her boyfriend as soon as she could in a conversation with a random guy, lest he get any ideas.

"Awesome. Do you think you could give me his contact info? I've been looking for someone to repair this," he said, flashing his inner forearm where an awful tattoo of a fairly naked woman and sounding no less enthusiastic; demonstrating that he was really simply talking to her because of the tattoo and not as some late attempt to pick her up.

"You know... actually if you're planning to stick around for a while, you could talk to him. He's due any minute and he just loves to talk shop," Piper replied, helpfully.

"Really? All right, but I'm holding you to that!" the guy said, flashing a smile before walking off and giving a careless wave.

"Now are you-" Sofia started only to be interrupted when Piper's attention was drawn to something behind the black-haired girl.

"Hold on, he's here," Piper stated, raising her hand and waving. Sofia sighed and turned around, ready to greet David who was practically her second roommate... after all he spent the majority of the time at his girlfriends place. Sofia tried not to hold it against them, as she knew it was difficult for them together, given the fact that Piper was a nurse and worked somewhat unholy hours and David put in a lot of overtime at the shop due to his skill not to mention the demands of living in an studio in an expensive neighborhood in Chicago.

"What are you talking about Pepper, I don't see him," Sofia stated, looking towards the entrance. However, the only person she saw there was a man, so handsome it was almost painful to look at him.

"Not David, Dr. Cullen."

_**x~X~x**_

_**CARLISLE**_

_**x~X~x**_

The blonde doctor was trying very hard not to breathe as he stepped into the Cafe while simultaneously still trying to act human; a somewhat paradoxical task. However, the smell of coffee was so strong in the air, that it was difficult to breathe without feeling his throat itch. Whether the itch was real, or something simply fabricated in his mind, did not matter.

Lingering in the doorway to the cozy yet ambient cafe and casting a look around, Carlisle found himself frowning slightly. He felt distinctly out of place given the youth of the crowd and their general air of rebelliousness mixed with a somewhat haughty artistic air, in spite of his perpetual age being no older than most of the crowd and despite Alice's best efforts to dress him for the occasion.

Having gotten accustomed to wearing ties, button downs, dress pants and dress-shoes for the last couple decades, it was rather discomforting to wear something so... casual.

Looking down once more at his attire, he tugged a bit on the sleeves of his long-sleeved, charcoal-grey, v-neck shirt which was not tucked into his black chinos which Alice had paired with a set of black loafers.

For the millionth time, he wondered how Alice had bullied him into coming.

He supposed that the only reason he'd attended was because Piper was a sweet girl, and knowing that she had a boyfriend somehow set him slightly at ease. At least he new with the young, red-head nurse in particular, he didn't have to worry about having to be wary of her attraction towards him and could relax in her presence somewhat.

Speaking of which... looking up once more, he spotted the girl just a she raised her arm and wondered at the difference she made.

All he'd ever seen the girl in before were light blue scrubs that brought out the color in her eyes. Her long mane of messy red curls was usually tied up in a very tight ponytail, so as to remain out of her way while she worked. To see her instead in a black, spaghetti strap dress that came down to mid-thigh and revealed the full extent of tattoos on her right arm was certainly different. Not to mention the knee-high boots paired with the dresss.

Smiling what he was sure was almost a shy smile, which betrayed his slight nervousness, Carlisle started to make his way over slowly.

Seated across from Piper, he noticed very a pretty girl whose straight black hair was parted so that long bangs partially covered her right eye and was cut in uneven layers, the longest of which barely grazed her shoulders. He was quick to note the large roundness in of her extremely entrancing eyes, the guarded expression in their dark depths, and the enticing shape of her raspberry colored lips.

"Piper... did you invite your boss in some attempt to play cupid?!" he heard, what he assumed was the dark-haired girl accompanying Piper say; picking up her voice because he was not less then ten feet away from their table, and because he'd been able to pick up his co-workers name despite the din of the cafe. Which was astoundingly full considering the late hour.

"The guy is hot! Are you honestly going to complain, if I did? Now play nice, he's coming," Piper hissed back quickly before straightening in her seat and smiling at him, just as he stepped up next to their table; feeling extremely uncomfortable now he knew the nature of this social outing.

_Did Alice know? Was that why she was so insistent? If so... why... what did she see? _Carlisle wondered as he simultaneously answered Piper's greeting, trying to hide his discomfort. Not too difficult a task, when compared to the charade of constantly playing a human.

"Doc, this is my best friend and roomie, Sofia Rossi. Sophie this is the best boss you can ever have, not to mention god amongst doctors, Doctor Carlisle Cullen," Piper introduced. If Carlisle was capable of blushing, he would have been doing so. Instead he flashed a quiet, somewhat bashful smile.

Sofia, the somewhat petite, dark-haired beauty, was sitting very stiffly as she flashed him the barest trace of a smile before sending a not-so-subtle glare at Piper. Evident by her stance, she was very uneasy, though whether it was because she'd been tricked into a blind-date, or because of her proximity to a vampire, Carlisle wasn't sure.

In spite of the Vampires nature to entrance their prey... Carlisle found that there were those who were more repulsed or uneasy in their presence. Almost as though their bodies were instinctually reacting to their natural predators.

Curiously enough, the girl didn't seem swooningly attracted to him either, something that was exceedingly rare. Even human's whose bodies reacted repulsed or uneasy to vampires, were still inevitably attracted at glance.

"Please join us Doc," Piper invited with a smile, pulling the guitar case so it rested against her chair while simultaneously pushing the chair between herself and her friends out with her foot.

The table they were currently occupying was circular, and perhaps big enough for four, though it might be a tight fit. As the girls were sitting opposite of each other, the only space left were the sides of circle between them.

Smiling somewhat gratefully, though he was sure his uncertainty showed through, Carlisle sat down between them. For a moment, he employed centuries worth of talent, in supressing the assault of sounds from the cafe that affected his heightened senses especially and tried to focus on the girls he was presently in the company of.

However, while Piper was smiling and attempting to be friendly, he noted she was also distracted, staring towards the door. Her friend on the other hand, was picking at the sides of the black, hard covered book on the table. Belatedly he realized it was a sketchpad as he noticed she was drumming a drawing pencil on the top.

Before he could ask, however, he watched Piper jump out of her seat. Surprised by her fast movement, he watched as the red-head glided over towards the entrance. Barely turning in his seat, he watched as she threw herself at man that appeared to be their age, with dirty blonde hair, a neatly trimmed goatee that seemed far too long to be sensible and heavily tatted arms showing from beneath a black t-shirt.

"Doc, this is my boyfriend David Moore. Dave, this is Doctor Carlisle Cullen," she introduced as they came to stand by the table.

"It's nice to meet you," David said said politely, extending his hand to shake.

"It's nice to meet you too, and please call me Carlisle," he said as he reluctantly, though no so much that the human's noticed, extended his hand to shake. If David noticed the drastic change in temperature between their hands, he didn't comment as he moved to help his girlfriend into her seat before moving to take his own.

"So, how do you all know each other?" Carlisle asked curiously.

"High school... we all attended Lane Tech, it's a very big school and we were all in the same graduating class," Davis replied, his voice low and almost with a lazy drawl to it, though not to the point were it was absolutely lethargic.

"Sofia and I met in our first year, we had four class together-" Piper started.

"And Piper practically stalked me... she was quite annoying," Sofia stated, her tone sounding slightly irate, thought the tilt of the right corner of her lips gave way to her teasing.

"Well I had to! I've never met someone as unsociable and stubborn as you!" Piper cried out indignantly, causing Carlisle to smile a soft smile... able now to see that though they bickered there was a genuine affection between the pair.

"David and I were both in the art curriculum, so over the four years we had a quite a few classes together, usually art. Although we didn't actually speak to each other until senior year," Sofia went on, for the first time addressing him directly. "Although, we didn't get particularly close I recall, if it wasn't for Jones... who got it in her head that we simply had to form a band."

Carlisle noted from the corner of his eye that Piper crossed her arms over her chest and looked away with a slight air of disinterest while David stared down at the table top.

"Jones?" Carlisle asked, though he guessed this person was the reason for the change in the group.

"She and David were high-school sweethearts and she insisted he introduce us. Through a bit of encouragement I decided to become part of their band, and brought in Piper for vocals," Sofia explained with a cavalier air, as neither of the other pair seemed keen to do so.

"You can sing?" Carlisle asked turning to Piper with some awe, to which she turned to him and flashed a smile.

"Oh yes... my Red Pepper here is a girl of many talents," David said softly and with a radiant smile filled with so much love towards Piper that Carlisle felt his heart clench with an almost jealous longing. However, before he could think too much on his many centuries alone, he felt a hand lightly touch his arm.

Turning slightly, he noticed that Sofia was leaning into him though she was looking at the enamored pair with a slight smile that didn't quite reach her dark eyes. "I'm sorry to say, but you don't ever get used to how obnoxiously in love they are."

Carlisle chuckled slightly as he turned to Sofia who moved her eyes towards him and smiled a little more genuinely at him.

Carlisle wasn't sure what it was, but suddenly he could hear Sofia's heart's rhythm rise against the din. It began to race, but as her body stiffened, he realized that it wasn't out of pleasure. Her mouth hung slightly open in surprise, as her eyes widened slightly. The smell of fear filled the air and he furrowed his brow in concern, moving slowly towards the girl who had swiftly retracted her hand.

However, as he did so she shot quick and startled looks around, her gaze searching almost frantically.

It was a strange moment, as though time seemed to stop. The general sound of chatting patrons, the still a rather involved couple joining them... in such surroundings such sudden fear seemed out of place, while the world continued to move around them, completely unaware.

Absently, from a corner of the room, Carlisle heard the strings of guitar being played, the notes drifting through the air to his ears in a cheerful, upbeat tone that seemed to contrast even further with the frightened doe next to him.

Overwhelmingly, a desire to comfort her seized him. Stronger than his yearning for the kind of love the pair with them had, stronger than his desire for companionship... was this sudden urge to protect the slender, pretty girl of which he knew virtually nothing.

_**TBC... Maybe?**_

**A/n: **So if you enjoyed this story, remember to review.


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